How Expensive Is Japan?

Yesterday Toyota announced it would stop importing the Camry from Japan because it was becoming too expensive. The yen is strengthening and the dollar is falling causing Japan to become very expensive. I think some people have a hard time wrapping their head around just how expensive Japan can be.....here's an example.

I could buy this jacket:

for 6,155.09 yen. Today's bank yen rate (You HAVE to go by the bank rate and not the actual rate as the bank rate will always be lower than the actual rate. All retailers use the bank rate.) is 75 yen to every dollar. So, to find out the price in US dollars we divide 6144.09 by 75. So this jacket would be $82.06 before taxes. Taxes in Japan are about 10%. So you'd pay about $90 USD for this jacket if you were to purchase it in Japan. Also keep in mind that US retailers like American Eagle make their coupons unusable in the international market.

So, this same jacket here:

Can be purchased for $79.50 before taxes. Taxes on goods purchased in Alabama are about 4%....so the total cost of this jacket would be $82.68 after taxes if I bought it in Alabama.....but wait...coupons work here in the US and I happen to have a 20% off coupon to American Eagle....which means I could get this jacket for about $66....so I save about $23 if I buy this jacket in the US instead of Japan.

This is just one example. I think I've said it before, but there's no such thing as open rods in Japan. Most highways are tolled at several locations. So you can easily spend $100 getting to your destination and $100 getting back.

I love Japan, but I wish it wasn't so expensive here. All efforts of the Japanese government to step in and control the strong yen price have failed. Hopefully they can bring it back to 80 yen per dollar because then it would make living here a little easier!